Pipe aligning apparatus



Jan. 17, 1956 Filed Sept. 28 195] H. E. MENSER PIPE ALIGNING APPARATUS 2 SheetsSheet 1 Henry E. Mense'r INVENTOR.

WW 3m Jan. 17, 1956 H. E. MENSER PIPE ALIGNING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 28, 1951 8 IIIIl/Il' h w u www h- 5 m6 m4 0 n 1 n m m w a m 'tl INVENTOR.

Q BY all My MJW sl 4/ 2 6 3 2/ M, 0 w IMfIII ,w m lmm l 2 m F United States Patent PIPE ALlGNlN G APPARATUS Henry E. Menser, New Port, Ind.

Application September 28, 1951, Serial No. 248,744

3 Claims. (Cl. 29-287) This invention relates to new and useful improvements and structural refinements in aligning apparatus for pipes, ducts and conduits which, in the form of an assembly, are composed of a plurality of sections, the principal object of the invention being to provide an apparatus of the character herein described, which may be conveniently and effectively employed for aligning the several sections of the assembly so that they are disposed in a common plane.

Some of the advantages of the invention reside in its simplicity of construction, in its eificient and dependable operation, in its convenient adjustability to accommodate pipes of different diameters and disposed at diiferent angular relationships to one another, and in its durability notwithstanding the rugged and bulky nature ofthe material on which the apparatus is intended to be used.

With the above more important objects and features in view, and such other objects and features as may become apparent as this specification proceeds, the invention consists essentially of the arrangement and construction of parts as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the apparatus, illustrating a pipe assembly applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of one of the pipe engaging and supporting units;

Figure 3 is an elevational view of the unit shown in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional detail, taken substantially in the plane of the line 44 in Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is an end view of the unit shown in Figures 2 and 3.

Like characters of reference are employed to designate like parts in the specification and throughout the several views.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, in Figure 1 there is designated by the general reference character an aligning apparatus for a pipe as sembly 12, the latter consisting of many different sections 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, etc., disposed at diiferent angular relationships to one another.

The purpose of the apparatus 10 is to properly align the different sections of the pipe assembly so that they are disposed in a common plane, the apparatus 10 consisting of a pair of spaced parallel rails 14 on which are adjustably positioned a plurality of pipe supporting and aligning units 16.

Since the several units 16 are similar in construction, it is believed that a description of one will suffice for all.

Each of the units 16 comprises a pair of suitable brackets 18, provided with clamping screws 20, whereby they may be adjustably positioned on the rails 14, each of the brackets 18 being pivoted by means of a bolt 22 to one end portion of a supporting arm 24 having a longitudinal slot 25 therein.

An elongated frame 26 has depending end portions provided with fastening elements 28 which are adjustice ably positioned in the slots 25, whereby the frame 26 is supported by the arms 24 and brackets 18 on the rails 14. Moreover, by virtue of the slots 25 and the pivots 22, 28, the arms 24 may be swung in different horizontal directions with respect to the rails 14 and the frame 16 may bridge the arms so as to extend transversely to the longitudinal axis of the particular section of the pipe assembly 12 which is to be aligned. This arrangement is clearly shown in the accompanying Figure 1.

The frame 26 is provided intermediate the ends thereof with a recessed portion defined by a frame bottom member 30 and by vertical guides 32, the latter being slidably engaged by vertically adjustable slides 34 which are secured to and depend from a platform 36 carrying a pair of rotatable pipe engaging rollers 38. A vertical screw threaded shaft 40 extends downwardly from the platform 36 and is slidable in a tubular socket 42 carried by the frame member 30, a hand wheel 44 provided with a screw threaded bore, being positioned on the shaft 40 and abutting the upper end of the socket 42, so that by simply adjusting this hand wheel, the platform 36 together with the rollers 38 may be raised or lowered relative to the frame 26.

The side portions of the frame 26 are provided with longitudinal slots 46 to accommodate a pair of coact' ing jaws 48 which are movable in the slots toward and away from each other, that is, in and out of engagement with a pipe positioned on the rollers 38..

The jaws 48 have lower portions 49 provided with screw threaded bores to receive oppositely screw-threaded portions of a transverse shaft 50. The latter is rotatably journaled in the depending end portions of the frame 26, and it will be apparent from the foregoing that when the shaft is rotated in one direction or the other, the jaws 48 are moved toward or away from each other, as the case may be.

The rotation of the shaft 50 is effected by either of a pair of hand wheels 52 rotatably mounted by suitable brackets 54 at the opposite ends of the frame 26 and operatively connected to the shaft 50 by bevel gearing 56.

Thus, by adjusting the jaws 48 so that they clamp the pipe 12 therebetween while the pipe rests on the rollers 38 of the vertically adjustable platform 36, the entire pipe assembly may be properly aligned so that the sections thereof are disposed in a common plane.

Finally, it may be noted that the jaws 48 are provided with recesses 58 affording a certain amount of clearance for the platform 36 and slide 34 when a pipe of a rela tively small diameter is being clamped, and in addition, the slides 34 themselves are provided with recesses 60 to aiford clearance for the shaft 50 when the slides are shifted upwardly and downwardly relative to the frame 26 It is believed that the advantages and use of the invention will be clearly understood from the foregoing disclosure and accordingly, further description thereof at this point is deemed unnecessary.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention, it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A pipe aligning apparatus comprising a pair of spaced parallel rails, a pair of brackets individually adjustable on the respective rails longitudinally thereof, a pair of arms pivoted at one end thereof in a horizontal plane to the respective brackets and swingable horizontally inwardly and outwardly relative to the rails, longi tudinal slots in said arms, a horizontally elongated frame, means on said frame adjustably connecting said frame to said arms, said means extending through said slots and slidable therein, a vertically adjustable pipe supporting member mounted intermediate the ends of said frame, and a pair of coacting horizontally opposed pipe' clamping jaws movable toward each other and mounted on said frame at the'opposite sides of said membet.

2. A pipe aligning apparatus comprising a pair of spaced parallel rails, a pair of brackets individually adjustable on the respective rails longitudinally thereof, a pair of arms pivoted at one end thereof in a horizontal plane to the respective brackets and swingable horizontally inwardly and outwardly relative to the rails, longitudinal slots in said arms, a horizontally elongated frame, a pair of spaced upwardly extending guides mounted intermediate the ends of said frame, means on said frame adjustably connecting said frame to said arms, said means extending through said slots and slid able therein, a pipe supporting member movable ver tically on said guides, said pipe supporting member including a platform having a pair of slides depending therefrom slidably engaging said guides, means for moving said pipe supporting member carried by said frame, said means being positioned between said guides and said slides and engaging said platform, a pair of horizontally opposed pipe clamping jaws slidable on said frame at the opposite sides of said pipe supporting member, and a threaded shaft for simultaneously sliding said jaws toward and away from each other, said shaft extending through said guides.

3. A pipe aligning apparatus comprising a pair of spaced parallel rails, a pair of brackets individually adjustable on the respective rails longitudinally thereof, a pair of arms pivoted at one end thereof in a horizontal plane to the respective brackets and swin'gable horizontally inwardly and outwardly relative to the rails,

c longitudinal slots in said arms, a horizontally elongated frame, a pair of spaced upwardly extending guides mounted intermediate the ends of said frame, means on said frame adjustably connecting said frame to said arms, said means extending through said slots and slidable therein, a pipe supporting member movable vertically on said guides, said pipe supporting member including a 1 platform having a pair of slides depending therefrom slidably engaging said guides, means for moving said pipe supporting member carried by said frame, said means being positioned between said guides and said slides and engaging said platform, a pair of horizontal 1y opposed pipe clamping jaws slidable on said frame at the opposite sides of said pipe supporting member, and a threaded shaft for simultaneously sliding said jaws toward and away from each other, said shaft extending through said guides, slots in said platform, and rollers rotatably mounted in said slots extending above said platform.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,140,123 Crook May 18, 1915 1,370,705 Norton Mar. 8, 1921 1,463,882 Fuller Aug. 7, 1923 1,639,710 Stowell Aug. 23, 1927 1,740,836 Robison Dec. 24, 1929 1,834,294 Spahn d. Dec. 1, 1931 1,891,127 Wallis -1 Dec. 13, 1932 1,956,480 Wallis Apr. 24, 1934 2,139,771 Riemenschneider Dec. 13, 1938 2,227,111 Sturm Dec. 31, 1940 2,235,553 Haversack 1. Mar. 18, 1941 2,268,368 Anderson -4 Dec. 30, 1941 2,334,080 Freeman "1,. Nov. 9, 1943 2,500,204 Ro'nay' Mar. 14, 1950 2,680,287 Wilson June 8,1954 

